vi These categories seem to represent the basic breakdown by field of present-day research in this area. Though each paper has been classified into one of these categories (for conference organization purpose), many papers overlapped two or three areas. It is also interesting to note that not only are scientific results being communicated, but the latest techniques and the state-of-the-art tools of the trade (existing and in development) are also being presented. The forty-six papers presented at this conference represent the work of seventy scientists working at universities, government laboratories, and industrial laboratories in seven different countries . We would like to thank the contributors for their efforts and especially for their promptness in providing the editors with their final manuscripts. William A. Kuperman Finn B. Jensen La Spezia, Italy July 1980 CONTENTS GEOACOUSTIC PROPERTIES OF MARINE SEDIMENTS Attenuation of Sound in Marine Sediments . • 1 J. M. Hovem Directivity and Radiation Impedance of a Transducer 15 Embedded in a Lossy Medium . •• •••••• G. H. Ziehm Elastic Properties Related to Depth of Burial, Strontium Content and Age, and Diagenetic Stage in Pelagic Carbonate Sediments . . • • . • • • . 41 M. H. Manghnani, S. O. Schianger, and P. D. Milholland Application of Geophysical Methods 'and Equipment to Explore the Sea Bottom . •• •••. • 53 H. F. Weichart The Acoustic Response of Some Gas-Charged Sediments in the Northern Adriatic Sea • • • • . • • • • 73 A.